Random Ten

I used to be disgusted, now I just try to be amused

My Bloody Valentine, "What You Want"
Violent Femmes, "I Held Her in My Arms"
Elvis Costello, "Red Shoes"
The Waterboys, "The Whole of the Moon"
Lone Justice, "After the Flood"
Peter Gabriel, "Games Without Frontiers"
Sting, "Fragile"
Mirah, "Don't Die in Me"
T'Pau, "Heart and Soul"
Tom Waits, "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You"

If you're keeping score, that's eight songs from the '80s, one from the '90s, and only one from this century. I can offer no defense for the inclusion of that T'Pau track, and especially not for its one-note drum machine. I can't even point back to some relationship from 1987 that might provide a nostalgic halo of positive association to justify my liking this song.

I've been listening to "The Whole of the Moon" for 20 years now and I'm still not sure I could tell you who or what this song is about. (The lyrics are here.) To climb on the ladder with the wind in your sails is surely a mixed metaphor, but somehow in the context of the song it makes you feel as though you yourself are or could be climbing on the ladder with the wind in your sails and that this would be a glorious thing to be doing.